Brush

ABSTRACT

A hair brush ( 10 ) has a handle portion ( 12 ), a body portion ( 14 ) with a plurality of vent openings ( 24 ) passing therethrough, and a plurality of movable mechanisms ( 20 ) for engaging hair in combination with bristles in order to style the hair.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional application 60/818,373 filed 3 Jul. 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to hair brushes and, more particularly, to hair brushes having bristles for styling hair and moving mechanisms for engaging hair in cooperation with bristles.

2. Description of Related Art

Various known hair brushes have bristles in combination with some type of moving mechanism that engages and manipulates hair in combination with bristles for achieving a desired styling effect. Another known device is an attachment for a hand held hair dryer with a comb-like hair-engaging end having movable hair engaging mechanisms for styling while applying forced, heated air. Such known hair brushes and devices do not include a vented brush body for allowing air to pass through such as, for example, when using a hand held hair dryer operated in close proximity to the brush while, at the same time, allowing the brush to be used separately and apart from a hair dryer.

OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hair brush having bristles, movable hair-engaging mechanisms for engaging hair in combination with the bristles, and a vented body allowing forced air such as from a hair dryer to pass through the brush body past the bristles and into the engaged hair.

These and other objects are achieved by the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

According to the present invention, a hair brush has a handle portion, a body portion having a plurality of vent openings passing therethrough, and a plurality of movable mechanisms for engaging hair in combination with bristles in order to style the hair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATION FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a first perspective view.

FIG. 2 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a second perspective view.

FIG. 3 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a top view.

FIG. 4 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a first end view.

FIG. 5 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a third perspective view.

FIG. 6 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a fourth perspective view.

FIG. 7 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a bottom view.

FIG. 8 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a first side view.

FIG. 9 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a partial side view.

FIG. 10 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a partial top view.

FIG. 11 is an image of a brush according to the present invention, shown in a second end view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-11, a brush (10) according to the present invention has a handle portion (12), a head portion (14), a plurality of first bristles (16), a plurality of second bristles (18), a plurality of movable hair-engaging parts (20), a trigger button (22), a plurality of first vent openings (24) on a top side (26) of the head portion (14), a plurality of second vent openings (28) on a bottom side (30) of the head portion (14), and a spring-tension dial (32).

The handle (12) and head portion (14) may be unitary or multi-part, constructed of any suitable material such as plastic, wood, or other known materials. The first bristles (16) may be of any known type including, but not limited to, flexible plastic bristles. The second bristles (18) may also be of any known type and are preferable shaped and sized relatively wide to cooperate with movable hair-engaging parts (20). The hair-engaging parts (20) are spring-biased toward an adjacent second bristle (18) so that hair may be pinched and gently squeezed between the respective hair-engaging part (20) and adjacent second bristle (18) so that as the brush is pulled through the hair during styling the hair-engaging parts (20) and the second bristles (18) straighten and pull on the hair to shape or style it, optionally while applying heated air from a dryer. The hair-engaging parts (20) may be individually spring-biased or, preferably, attached to a common carriage (not shown) mounted in the interior of the head (14) so that they move in unison. A trigger button (22) activating a simple mechanism such as a toggle (not shown) can selectively move the carriage such as to open a gap between the hair-engaging parts (20) and second bristles (18) to facilitate hair engagement. The hair-engaging parts (20) may have sloped or curved distal ends to facilitate easy sliding of hair into engagement between the hair-engaging parts (20) and the second bristles (18). This feature could enable such hair engagement to be achieved without a trigger button (22) if desired. A spring-tension dial (32) enables a user to selectively adjust spring tension in the carriage controlling the pinching force between the hair-engaging parts (20) and the second bristles (18).

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed herein, various modification can be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. 

1) A hair styling device comprising a handle; a head connected to said handle; a plurality of bristles attached to and extending from said head for engaging hair; and a plurality of selectively moveable hair-engaging mechanisms adapted to move toward and away from said plurality of bristles in order to compress hair between said bristles and said mechanisms. 2) A device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of vent holes passing through said head. 3) A device according to claim 1, further comprising a trigger for selectively moving said hair-engaging mechanism. 4) A device according to claim 1, further comprising a spring for biasing said hair-engaging members toward said bristles. 5) A device according to claim 1, wherein said hair-engaging members have sloped distal ends. 6) A device according to claim 4, further comprising a manually adjustable spring tension adjusting mechanism for selectively adjusting tension in the spring. 